This application claims the priority of German Application No. 10241585.4 filed Sep. 5, 2002, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention concerns a control unit for controlling paragliders, an unlatching apparatus for triggering a flaring maneuver to be conducted by a load-bearing paraglider system, and a paraglider system.
A support and adjusting system with a control unit for executing controlled and curved flight maneuvers with a load-bearing paraglider with trailing edges is known from German Patent Document DE 199 60 332 C1 (corresponding U.S. Pat. No. 6,505,793). Executing the maneuvers takes place by utilizing the force of the weight of the load, in which an electric motor for driving the cable drum upon which control lines are rolled up, a transmission unit and a brake apparatus are interposed between the control unit connected with the trailing edges and the load.
It is an object of the invention to furnish a load-bearing paraglider system as well as an associated control unit for controlling paragliders with which improved landing of unmanned paragliders is made possible.
A further object of the invention is to furnish a latching apparatus for a control unit of this type that is simply constructed and can be triggered for a flaring maneuver.
These objectives are achieved by preferred embodiments of the invention which have a load bearing paraglider system including a control mechanism for controlling a paraglider aerodynamic shape to influence flight characteristics utilizing gravity forces acting on the load upon relative movement of the load and the paraglider carrying the load, said control mechanism comprising: a rotative load bearing roller with a load bearing strap wound thereon which in use supports the load, a rotatable flaring strand roller with a flaring strand wound thereon which flaring strand in use is connected with an air foil control section of the paraglider, said load bearing roller and said flaring strand roller being coupled to one another such that when rotated together in one rotational direction, the load bearing strand is unwound from the load bearing roller and the flaring strand is wound onto the flaring strand roller whereby the distance between the flaring strand roller and the air foil control section of the paraglider is shortened to thereby move the air foil section when the load bearing roller is rotated in said rotational direction by load forces from the load acting on the load bearing strap, a latching mechanism operable to selectively latch the load bearing roller and flaring strand roller to permit rotation, and a controller responsive to a signal indicative of a distance between a local ground surface and the load to control unlatching of the latching mechanism.
These objectives are also accomplished with the preferred embodiments of the invention as set forth herein.
In accordance with certain preferred embodiments of the invention, a control system is provided for a load-bearing paraglider system with a load-bearing paraglider with trailing edges and with at least one flaring strand connected with the trailing edge for implementing flared and curved flight maneuvers using the force of the weight of the load. Straps that connect the load-bearing paraglider with a control unit are provided as control lines which are rolled up on an unrolling unit of a transmission unit of the control unit. The unrolling roller is connected with a braking apparatus and the unrolling unit has at least two load strap rollers for same direction rolling up of respectively two load straps as well as at least one flaring strand roller for accommodating a flaring strand, whereby the at least two load strap rollers are coupled by a rotational axle in the direction of rotation, and at least one flaring strand roller is coupled with the load strand rollers and is rolled up on the flaring strand roller such that the load straps are rolled off in a predetermined direction of rotation when the at least one flaring strand is rolled up in the same direction of rotation. In certain preferred embodiments of the invention, an unlatching apparatus for unlatching the unrolling unit and a laser altitude measuring unit is provided for measuring the altitude above ground and a comparison apparatus for comparing the measured altitude with a target altitude that is functionally connected with the unlatching apparatus are provided, whereby the unlatching device is unlatched when the target altitude is attained.
An advantage of preferred embodiments of the invention is that the high energy requirement for controlling a load-bearing paraglider with a load is furnished with an economical solution. Through the solution of the invention, the additional use of expensive positioning drives such as, for example, electric motors with heavy batteries, safety-critical pyrotechnics, hydraulics, internal combustion motors, pneumatics or tension springs are avoided.
Through the solution of certain preferred embodiments of the invention, the trailing edge rate of adjustment and the trailing edge adjustment path can be set simply.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.